


The Hand of Fate

by GaydineRoss



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Ajay is Bloodhound's student but they're both gay disasters, Ajay learns to be strong and Go Sicko Mode, Canon Non-Binary Character, Character Death, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Other, So Much Friendship, Trans Female Character, so many tears, so much love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-03-10 00:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18927394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaydineRoss/pseuds/GaydineRoss
Summary: Bloodhound becomes Ajay's teacher and friend. They fight together, talk about love, and their childhoods together. They find love with each other's help. When they are together they are unstoppable; but when disaster splits them and takes her love away from her, will Ajay be able to summon her might and take control?





	1. Student Che

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Narcissisticpeacock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narcissisticpeacock/gifts).



> yall mind if i praise the Allfather?

For Bloodhound to say that they were unimpressed to have been put into a squad with a totally inexperienced rookie would have been an understatement. They had expected the Gamemasters to pull this at some point for the sake of making things interesting, but the idea of having to constantly watch out for one person made them want to throw in the towel for the day while they still could. However, it would be rude of them to back out now, so forward they went into their designated pre-combat room to meet their teammates. They at least knew that they could trust Gibraltar to hold his own, having fought beside him before quite successfully. They marched into the room to find Gibraltar sat at the table across from an incredibly short woman with bright pink hair and just as equally loud a laugh. “Hey!” she called, jumping down from the table, making her way over to them. She idly bounced wear she stood, though listening to imaginary music, offering Bloodhound her hand. “Ajay Che, combat medic.” They shook her hand firmly. Maybe this rookie wouldn’t be so bad after all.

* * *

 

The media wasn’t over it for weeks. Everywhere Bloodhound went there was something with some variation on the galaxy’s new favourites.

_LEGENDARIES BLOODHOUND AND GIBRALTAR SNAP UP 7TH VICTORY WITH NEWCOMER LIFELINE_

They had to admit, it was a good feeling to know that they done so well; even if it was still strange to be out in public doing mundane personal things unrecognised, surrounded by their own mask everywhere. Nobody ever recognised them out of their armour, something they were especially grateful for; unlike the famously cocky Mirage, who seemed to soak up the attention everywhere he went. Did that smug bastard never get tired of it? They did have to admit that he certainly had the pretty face for it. They had spent several weeks mulling over how much Ajay Che had come to surprise them. They knew she had a military background, but she was nothing like Bangalore. She had her own fighting styles, her endless optimism coupled up with her resourcefulness made her totally unpredictable in a fight. Even Bloodhound was surprised at watching her ram a drumstick through Octane’s eye. Though they certainly wanted to ask why the hell she was carrying a drumstick in the first place. She had adapted well to the arena, and even helped them get the win, there was no doubt about that, but her sharpness and technique needed to improve. She had become flustered and panicked when faced with the admittedly terrifying Caustic. Bloodhound certainly didn’t dislike her and they were very admirable of her medical skills. _‘_

 _For the love of the Allfather,’_ they thought to themselves in bed one evening, _‘why do I not simply just offer to train her myself?’_

It had been several years since Bloodhound had left their teacher’s side, having promised to one day pass it on to someone worthy of possessing the Eye of the Allfather. Normally, Bloodhound had plenty of people try to approach them, begging for training, but they dismissed them all, knowing that one day they would find someone truly worthy. Somehow, they simply felt that power manifested itself in the tiny frame of Ajay Che.

* * *

 

The next day they found themselves about to knock on the door to apartment in the Champion’s Complex, only for it to be opened away from their fist by a slightly flustered but beaming Anita Williams. They stepped aside, allowing her to pass with a nod. “Bangalore,” they said respectfully. “Bloodhound,” she replied, barely making eye contact with them as she waved back at Ajay, trying to organise her ruffled hair that had no doubt seen some action the previous night. They turned back to find Ajay in her dressing gown and slippers, blushing and giggling as she watched Anita leave.

“I have something I would like to discuss with you, Miss Che.”

Ajay was stunned. She knew Bloodhound was a formal person, but Miss Che was not something she had been called in a while now.

In a blur of nerves, Bloodhound found themselves being invited in for morning tea. They had mentioned something about a proposal upon removing their shoes, but were too anxious about the thought of removing their mask to make head or tail of what Ajay had actually said in response. Ajay was a medical woman; she would surely understand their need for their surgical mask and thick glasses, so why did they feel so afraid of trusting her confidence with their true face? They removed their mask as she set down the teacups, and she barely even reacted. She made comment about their eyes or scars, not even their traditional braids. _‘I really can trust her,’_ they marvelled.

“What was the proposal you were sayin’ about?” She asked gently, sitting next to them on the couch.

“I want to offer to teach and mentor you in the art that I was trained in. I was extremely impressed by your ambition and skill inside the ring and it is my belief that you are destined for more victories, if it is what you wish for.”

They both talked at length for some time about what her training would entail, the trust, the teamwork, the traditions that went with it. Ajay was all too enthusiastic to accept their offer, talking about how all she wanted to do was help people, and how she would take any chance to be a better medic.

“I have one condition,” she stated at the end of their conversation.

“That is?”

“None of that ‘Miss Che’, you’re my friend now. My friends call me Ajay.” Bloodhound nodded in acknowledgement.

“Ajay, may the Allfather bless you, Nemandi.”


	2. Gay Rights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the gays roast each other

3 months into her training and Ajay was improving at a rate that Bloodhound had never seen before in their life. Her outspoken positivity was her driving force and she was never upset with herself, or the hard exercises that Bloodhound bestowed upon her. If she couldn’t do something she could just keep going, and often found new ways to get around problems that gave her an advantage with her size and agility. Their hunts were always successful efforts, despite the scrapes and bruises. What amazed Ajay was that, despite her regular imperfections, Bloodhound was never upset or disappointed in her, they were constantly patient. They always showed pride in what she did, and never forced her to destroy herself for the hunt. 

 

Ajay would never admit it, but sometimes it brought her to tears. The fact that Bloodhound could listen to her, be her friend and teacher at the same time on top of being a firm mentor baffled her. Their unwavering pride was something she thought she would never find in someone again. Her parents had been so cruel to her about her decision to pursue a life away from the family business for years. The fact that she valued life over money brought their wrath down upon her for years on end. No matter where she went or what she made of herself, they were still disappointed in her, and tormented her for it to no end. Bloodhound had never mentioned their parents to her, and she didn’t dare pry. Something told her that their relationship with them, if they were alive, was just as bad as hers. 

 

She knew that she could trust Bloodhound with the one thing that her family also resented her for. They were both trans. They often confided in each other in moments of discomfort and euphoria. When they sat on the hillside of the field they trained in and ate their midday meal together, it gave them time to talk. Bloodhound had been slowly opening up to Ajay, training without their mask and modulator, even going so far as to confide their entire face in her. Eventually, Ajay finally spoke to them about her family. She expected them to be understanding at least, and caring at the most. But soon she found that… she was being hugged. 

 

“You know, Nemandi,” they spoke softly as tears rolled down her cheeks, “if they come here to bother you I promise I will, as you have said, ‘yeet’ them out of this galaxy with such force that they shall never return.” 

 

Hearing Bloodhound use words that they had learned from her was a never ending source of pure comedy, and she couldn’t help but wipe her eyes and laugh. Her face was hot and flushed from crying, but she accepted that she was perfectly safe. 

 

“Thanks,” she laughed, “what about your parents? Do I need to watch out for them?” 

 

Ajay saw their face and instantly regretted opening her mouth. 

 

_ Fuck.  _

 

“When my planet was destroyed in the war, I only just made it out alive. My parents stayed behind to keep the soldiers off the last ships out so that I could escape. I know that some people did manage to leave at the least moment, but I’ve never been able to find them.” 

 

They released themselves from Ajay’s return of their embrace, walking into the middle of the field. Ajay wanted to cry all over again. They were hurt and she had no idea how to comfort them, this was one wound she couldn’t make go away. 

 

“Bloodhound I’m s-” 

They threw one of their long sticks at her. 

 

“It’s alright, I trust in the Allfather that they are not without honour.” 

 

Bloodhound quickly initiated a fight with Ajay, batting away her every attack with their defence. They noticed that she kept waiting for them to attack before making her own move, something she had never done before. 

 

“I’m not upset, Nemandi,” they promised. “Why don’t you tell me about Anita, I have seen her leaving your apartment more often than not these past few mornings.” 

 

Ajay blushed, accidentally allowing Bloodhound to land a hit on the side of her stomach, making her lose her balance and topple over as she thought about what exactly she had been doing with Anita over the past few weeks. Bloodhound stood over her, stick in the ground, offering her a hand up. 

 

“Well,” they chuckled as they remarked, “I have to say, I see that you are quite in love, Ajay.” 

 

She made a half-playful, half-fully deliberate jab at them with her stick, only for Bloodhound to nearly disarm her. 

 

“You could say we’re dating, what about it?” She asked.

 

“You act like I haven’t seen you two aggressively, uh, making out in the courtyards; you know, the ones we all share.” 

 

_ ‘Holy shit they saw that? How in the fuck did they see us do that?’ _

 

“Okay, so I’m in a very loving relationship with Anita; it’s not like I haven’t seen Elliott rushin’ over to your place after he’s done working.” 

 

_ ‘Allfather, holy fuck.’  _

 

“Perhaps you would be right in thinking that Elliott and I have a relationship that is a little beyond the professional.” 

 

Just then, Ajay managed to land a hit on them. For the first time she had hit them. She had never seen anyone do that, much less herself. More to that, she watched them stumble backwards upon the mention of Elliott. 

 

_ ‘We’re both far too gay for our own goods’,  _ she thought.

 

“What ‘professional’ are you talkin’ about? I heard him ask Wraith for make-up before going to work, and he was definitely very concerned about making sure his scarf was coverin’ his neck.” 

 

She wanted to laugh so badly. Bloodhound completely  **froze** . They didn’t even try to block her hit to the stomach. Instead they let themselves be winded, more from the shock of being so called out than the actual fight. 

 

“Okay, so maybe I am a little bit gay; hell, maybe I am even in love with him. He just has a really nice smile and even though he does stupid things he just makes me happy, Ajay.” 

 

Ajay kept going with the fight. She was screaming internally about landing multiple hits on the most vicious legend in the arena, they could barely focus on her now. 

 

“Yeah, Bloodhound, you’re really in love with him, and it’s very obvious you’re dating.” 

 

“We’re dating?” 

 

“Oh my fucking God.” 

 

Bloodhound had deflected her a few more times, moving in a swift ring around her. But, Ajay managed to launch herself past them and with a hard strike, knocked the stick from their hands. They reached out to grab her stick and take it for themselves, but she was stronger than them at the right moment. They ducked under her lunge, knocking her off her feet. Unphased, Ajay plunged the stick into the ground and kicked upwards with all of her might, landing directly against their chest, forcing them backwards with unstoppable force. She cried out as she ran over to where they, standing on their wrist and planting the stick into the ground directly besides their head, signifying a win. 

 

She looked up to the hill to see Anita walking over with a picnic basket, suddenly stopping in her tracks, mouth agape. 

 

“Well done, Felagí, you fought well today.” 

 

Bloodhound took the hand she offered them. 

 

“Go with Anita, I have to go and speak with Elliott. I have no doubt about where I will find you for tomorrow’s lesson.” 

 

Ajay was sweating buckets and beaming with pride. She knew that they had definitely let her win based on her calling them out, but it still felt good to have the impression that she beat the world champion, and in front of her girlfriend no less. 

 

“I’ll just get my bag, Sugar Plum!” She called out affectionately. 

 

Anita jogged over to Bloodhound, a look of disbelief on her face. 

 

“Was that real or was that just simulating what it would be like for her to win against someone else?” 

 

Bloodhound was equally dumbfounded. They shook their head slowly, watching Ajay sprint back towards her girlfriend. 

 

“Nobody has bested in me in combat like that in years.” 

 

“I have to marry her,” Anita blurted out to them. 

 

They laughed, putting a reassuring hand on her arm. 

 

“You should.”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments and kudos!


	3. Unbreakable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little NSFW just be warned

“Lie still, Felagí.” 

 

Bloodhound raised the spoon to Ajay´s lips, being careful not to spill any on her. She couldn´t be a mess when her girlfriend inevitably arrived. That would just be too embarrassing. The soup was thin and not Ajay´s favourite by any means but it was just what she needed after surgery. 

 

“How are you feeling?” Bloodhound asked quietly, being sure to keep their voice low for her. They knew that waking up after surgery always brought on the worst of headaches. 

 

“Like an oddly euphoric ton of bricks.” 

 

Ajay would have giggled with glee if it would not cause her so much pain. Even with the best medicine her champion’s money could buy her, having bottom surgery was still a painful and hard-going procedure. She watched her teacher smile as they helped her eat. Everything in the room was quiet and dimly lit, a soft old earth tune playing on the radio in the corner. 

 

“Did it feel like this when you had surgery?” She asked horsley, gratefully sipping water from the straw that was offered to her. 

 

“Well, I can’t attest to your exact surgery, but it would seem that our experiences were similar. I suppose Elliott might be a better candidate to ask.” 

 

As much as Bloodhound loved spending time with their best friend and student, the anxious waiting during and after surgery had made them quite tired, and they were certainly looking forward to crawling into bed with their boyfriend they got home. 

 

_ ‘Our new home _ .’ They thought. Bloodhound and Elliott had just moved in together, and they were happier than ever. Their relationship had sped up quite a bit once Bloodhound had actually managed to establish the fact that they were in fact dating. 

 

Ajay had just finished eating once Anita and Elliott were shown into the room by a nurse. Elliott was carry a bunch of flowers a small wrapped box, which Bloodhound knew to be the longest phone charger he could find at the market. Elliott had been pretty adamant about knowing the pains of recovering from bottom surgery. He considered himself an expert for some reason, but if it meant that Ajay would suffer less for the knowledge, who was going to complain? 

 

Anita had brought along a stack of congratulations cards from all of their friends, and a whole sack of fan mail wishing her well on her transition. They could go through those later. The sun was setting and they wanted to be alone together. 

 

Bloodhound and Elliott said their goodbyes and gave their hugs, promising to be back the next day. Anita sighed when the door closed behind them. 

 

“Hey, gorgeous.” She said, taking off her coat to reveal a sheer pink top with a matching decorative bra underneath, glimmering in the light of the sunset. 

 

Ajay couldn’t even respond with whole words. She was surprised and admittedly a little turned on by the gesture. 

 

“I’ve missed you, Dumplin’,” she confessed. 

 

Anita had only just gotten back from a week-long Apex tournament. She hadn’t quite won, but the money would do them just fine over Ajay’s recovery period. 

 

“You’ve missed this view,” she said, locked this door quietly to make sure they wouldn’t be disturbed. She turned around, reaching under her sheer shirt to unclasp her bra. Ajay was bright red now. 

 

“Don’t make me want you to fuck me when I’m in the worst possible position.” She whined, trying to reach out desperately for her teasing girlfriend’s hand. Anita sat on the edge of her bed, leaning forward to kiss all up her neck.  

 

Ajay found herself moaning almost instantly. She ran a hand through her girlfriend’s hair, the other trying to reach under her shirt, not that she could really call it that at this point. 

 

_ ‘Homophobic fucking forcefield.’ _

 

“You say that like we can’t get a little creative, honey.” Anita was just being mean now. 

 

“How much time do you think we have until the nurses come back?” Ajay asked. 

 

“I checked,” Anita said, beaming with pride, “at least two hours.” 

 

Ajay could barely hesitate before she dove for Anita’s jeans, her aims very focused on getting her hardening girlfriend off…

 

* * *

  
  


It only took Ajay six weeks to recover from her surgery. She spent a lot of her time in hospital thinking about the past two years. She had become a champion several times and had gained her own little family with everything she could have ever wanted and more. She had a girlfriend, a best friend, teammates, a perfect dumbass gay younger brother substitute. It had been more than a year since she had given her birth family any real thought. She was never going back to them. She had her whole new life ahead of her and she couldn’t even dream of anything better. 

 

She had bested Bloodhound several times in training now. Never in the ring, she knew that part of the reason their teamwork worked so well was because she knew how Bloodhound ran and nobody else did. They were coming up to their 75th win since the opening of the games, and Bloodhound had even gone so far as to publically remark their pride in her at one point. Just without telling the world that they were training her. 

 

The games and rescuing people and repairing the Outlands were all so fulfilling she had no idea what else she could do. All that was left for her to marry Anita, maybe get a cat. Maybe she could go after one of the dozen medical school scholarships she had been offered. At some point she would mean to ask Bloodhound when they decided she was finished learning. They hadn’t stuck around with whoever trained them after all. 

 

‘ _ Unless that person is dead,’  _ she thought. 

 

For now, she was perfectly contented. Her life with her new family was perfect, she was living in her own personal Utopia. Nothing could break Ajay Che now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments and kudos!


	4. Guns and Blades

“Health over here,” Ajay called, throwing down D.O.C. for her teammates. They had barely survived their last fight by the skin of their teeth. She sat behind a rock between Anita and Bloodhound, covered in sweat and the blood of her teammates and enemies alike. 

 

There were 3 other squads left. They were low on ammo and health. Wraith had come out of nowhere and slashed the tubing on Bloodhound’s mask, leaving them breathless and in pain. They were barely in any condition to walk home, nevermind continue fighting. Ajay was trying to keep everything together as best as she could. She didn’t have the supplies to heal everyone’s wounds. Anita had taken a pretty serious hit to the stomach and was still winded from it, and no amount of taping over her gunshot wound was going to help her make the sprint to the final ring. 

 

“Any bright ideas for when we get in there?” Anita asked, holding a hand over her stomach as the last wisps of her smoke grenades finally subsided.  

 

“That’s if we get there,” Bloodhound asked, wheezing between words. 

 

“We could trying hidin’ in the water, wait for the last squad and then jump out them.” Ajay was less than confident in her idea, but she couldn’t risk looking like she had already resigned herself to losing. Not in front of her girlfriend, and certainly not in front of her teacher. 

 

Ajay heard a twig snap distantly behind her. She barely had the time to register it before D.O.C. choked out a last whir, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap. 

 

“Sniper!” Anita called. She hauled herself up, pushing her gun into Ajay’s arms as she bent down to try pull Bloodhound to safety with her. 

 

Time slowed for Ajay. The sniper was distant, but the other two squad members were rushing over the hill in front of her, raining hell down upon them. She was too small to cover both of her teammates. She tried to stand in front Bloodhound, returning fire to them, even going so far as to toss back a grenade. She sent out her own arc star, a wave of fury rushing over her in realisation that they had destroyed her little friend, probably beyond repair. She finished her blows to them with her Wingman, letting it fall from her grasp as she gasped breathlessly, watching their death boxes descend from the sky. 

 

“Ajay,” Bloodhound stammered quietly behind her. She had never heard them sound so fearful. 

 

Ajay turned to see her mentor holding her girlfriend’s lifeless body in their arms, a clean hole in the side of her temple. She must not have heard the sniper take a second shot. 

 

“A-Anita,” she whimpered, cupping her girlfriend’s face in hands mournfully. Deep down she knew that nobody really died in the games, it just hurt like the real thing. It sure looked like the real thing too. The thought abandoned her as her sorrow took over. 

 

“Sugar? Please?” She begged helplessly. Tears formed in her eyes as she watched Anita begin to turn a sickly grey, her death box descending above them to lie next to her on the ground. 

 

“Anita?” 

 

Bloodhound put a shaking hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort their student. 

 

“She’s gone, Ajay, it’s just us now.” 

 

They tried to gently tug her away so that they could get moving. They had never had one of their own squad members die without a chance at respawning before. It felt horrible to them, and they couldn’t imagine how it must have felt to Ajay. 

 

Ajay wailed openly with a broken sob, wrapping her arms around Anita’s body and trying to muffle her pleas into the crook of her shoulder. Bushes and trees rustled around her. There was the calm churning of the sea behind and a whistling breeze that came to cool her burning face as she lifted it from Anita’s corpse. 

 

With such gentle sounds around her it was a wonder that she didn’t hear her friend gasp desperately behind her, or the rush of footsteps that followed, until it was too late. 

 

Ajay found herself shoved out the way, face down into the dirt. She hastily turned herself over to see Bloodhound up and fighting, coughing and stumbling over their moves as one of the new legends faced off with them with huge knives that showered their surroundings sparks. Her crying distorted her vision and her gasping for breath hindered her in getting up to help. She immediately dove for her Wingman, looking up to make direct eye contact with the angry electric blue eyes of the new legend, a spinning knife coming towards her. 

 

In that split second she watched Bloodhound dive in front of her. There was no longer a knife coming towards her. The only sound around her was a blaring alarm. 

 

“Warning: Critical breach of atomic shield.” 

 

Instinctively, she snapped her gun up to meet the gaze of the legend, unloading a whole magazine into their skull without any thought. 

 

Ajay began to come to her senses. Her tears were drying and her breaths were slowing. The screeching alarm was hurting her ears, but she could hardly care for it with so little time to go until the final ring would close. 

 

“That was too close, huh?” She chuckled, sitting up in the dirt next to Bloodhound. 

 

There was no reply; only feverish shaking. 

 

“Warning: Critical breach of atomic shield.” 

 

She leant over them, only now noticing the knife in their chest. 

 

“Bloodhound?” She whispered. 

 

They felt for her hand frantically, squeezing it desperately as she held their hands in hers. 

 

“My shield-” they pleaded. 

 

Shards of glass-like armour stuck out of their chest surrounding the knife. The knife had pierced the base shield that they wore, the one that all legends wore. It was what protected them from their falls, from taking real irreparable damage. It was the only thing that stopped them from truly dying; and theirs was broken. 

 

“I’m gonna find a way to fix this, I promise. I’m gonna think of something!” 

 

She started shakily going through her pockets, looking for an answer she knew she wouldn’t have. There was blood spilling from their mouth as she silently prayed to the Allfather on their behalf for an answer; a roll of tape, a dressing, anything. 

 

“Aj-Ajay,” they spluttered, weakly taking her hand again. 

 

“I’m here, just hold o-” her begging meant nothing. They were all out of time and all out of luck. 

 

“Kill me.” 

 

Ajay was stunned. She shook her head, her hair was beginning to fall out of its neat buns as she tried to rub the tears from her sore eyes again. 

 

“Listen, the rest of my shield is in tact. Killing me will send me to the medica-” 

 

“I can’t. Bloodhound, I won’t do it. I can’t- I can’t risk losing you.” 

 

A bloody gloved hand came up to touch her cheek. 

 

“Felagi, I have been ready for my death for a long time. Know that, if I do not make it, being your teacher was the greatest joy and honour I have ever known.” 

  
  


Ajay must have killed them. She knew that time had passed and that the heat of the closing ring was eating at the back of her neck. She knew that Bloodhound’s body was lying next to their death box and she knew that she was standing above them, hot Wingman in hand. 

She didn’t have time to try and open the boxes for new guns. She had one magazine left in her Wingman, and she was going to need something more than guns to get through what she was about to face. 

 

Her rage, in that moment, was unparalleled. She was going to win for her teammates or she was going to go down kicking and screaming. The gamemakers had let her best friend die, and probably without a care or consequence. As long as it made front-page news tomorrow morning, there was no way they would truly care. 

 

She unclipped the box that was strapped to Bloodhound’s wrist, taking their hunting knife with her and strapping them both to herself as she ran back over to Anita’s body. She had to cut the smoke grenades free and haphazardly drape them around her waist as she ran from the burning lasers of the ring. 

 

Ajay sprinted into the ring. The last two squads were already hashing it out on opposite sides of the river. Caustic was certainly involved, given the unpleasant yellow smoke that filled most of the ring in front of her. Ideally, she would let one squad kill the other and the ambush the survivors before they could heal. However, she would need another gun to do that. 

 

The last thing she could do to honour her dying friend was make them proud. So, Ajay hatched her own plan that to anyone else at that time would have seemed damn near suicidal. It didn’t matter to her anymore, she had lost Bloodhound and Anita in the heat of her own carelessness. She had nothing left to lose. 

 

She stood tall upon a rock, overlooking the battle. Taking a deep breath she pulled up her surgical mask to cover her face, holding her teacher’s knife in one hand, the other hovering over the mysterious box. She flicked it open, immediately feeling a primal rage surging through her veins, forcing her to roar loud enough to stop the ongoing battle. She throw the belt of smoke grenades down at her feet, her eyes streaming with red, and took her gun into her other hand. 

 

Ajay let out a horrifying shriek, jumping down from the rock and beginning to run through the cloud of smoke. 

 

“I am Lifeline!” she bellowed with an animalistic snarl, “and I will decide your fate!” 

 

The essence of the Allfather overcame her. Every moment she had spent with Bloodhound had led up to this moment. She was uncontainable, and with nothing more than her blade, her gun, and her fury, she was the most terrifying legend the galaxy would ever know. 

  
  
  
  


Anita woke up on a sterile ward in a sterile gown, surrounded by equally sterile-looking people. She was not accustomed to this ward, given that she had been sent there quite a few times before. She looked around, expecting to see her teammates in the beds next to her. Except, they weren’t to be found. Had she been the only one to die? That was uncommon by her experience, and certainly since she had the best medic for a girlfriend. 

 

Anita sat up, looking around the room at all the legends that she need not interact with. She heard frantic shouting and beeping of machines outside of the ward. It was coming from the private room that was normally associated with particularly bad injuries, but she had never heard commotion like this coming from it. She listened to someone in the room crying and begging to be told something. 

 

_ Wait.  _ She thought.  _ That’s Elliott.  _

 

Elliott wouldn’t be that broken down about someone unless it was truly bad. 

 

_ Unless it was Bloodhound.  _

 

She jogged to the small window into the private room. She saw Elliott being held back by several nurses, his face red with tears as she watched him plead and beg for answers. There was a figure on the bed covered in blood. It wasn’t just regulated blood stopped by the atomic shields for the cameras, it was real blood, and it kept on coming. 

 

Bloodhound was dying and she couldn’t do a thing about it. 

 

Anita continued to look around her ward for any sign of Ajay. She ran past tutting nurses and busy doctors, double checking every bed to no avail. She was about to burst into tears, fearing the worst; until she looked up at the large screen at the end of the room. 

 

Ajay was there. Ajay was still in the ring and she looked like nothing Anita had ever seen before. Ajay was but a blur of flying rage, bursting through action replay after action replay, slicing her way through the last members of the enemy squads, tearing into them with terrifying precision and bloodlust. Anita was mesmerised the entire time. Her tiny, excitable, caring girlfriend had become a killing machine the likes of nothing she had ever seen in her entire career. 

 

_ Holy shit.  _ She thought.  _ I’m gonna marry her.  _

  
  
  
  


Ajay woke up in a small private room. She hazily sat up to look over at her roommate, occupying the only other bed in the room. It was Bloodhound, hooked up to beeping machines, surrounded by careful cushioning and covered in padded dressings. Elliott was curled up in a huge knitted jumper on the chair next to Bloodhound’s bed; his beard and sunken eyes telling her that he had probably been there for several days. He was reading something, and excitedly looked over at her to watch her sit up. 

 

“How’re you doing?” He asked, putting his book down. 

 

“Stellar,” she answered, “you look like shit.” 

 

“I feel it,” he said “every other day the doctors come in and say there’s something wrong and that they might not make it, so obviously I couldn’t leave them.” 

 

Ajay couldn’t help but wonder if Anita had been in the same position. She wasn’t on the ward with them, so she must be doing just fine, right? 

 

“Anita said she had something important to ask you about when she got back,” Elliott said, reaching over to stroke their datefriend’s hair, “don’t ask me what, though. She only told me that she’s gone home to get you nicer pyjamas.” 

 

Ajay smiled, she knew what that conversation was probably going to entail. She lay back down to catch a little extra rest before her girlfriend arrived, sighed sleepily and contentedly. So many parts of her life hurt right now, but she knew what she could look forward to now. 

**Author's Note:**

> Icelandic notes:  
> Nemandi: student 
> 
> Please leaves comments and kudos!


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